Hybrid kneader-feeder-cutter



United States Patent O 3,496,894 HYBRID KNEADER-FEEDER-CU'ITER Lawrence A. Portuo, St. Louis, Mo. Sidney B. Ring, P.O. Box 6825, Brentwood, Mo. 63144) Filed May 5, 1967, Ser. No. 636,361 Int. Cl. D05b 65/00, 27/02 U.S. Cl. 112--252 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a novel sewing machine feeder and to the method of employing it.

In the overstitching operation, two pieces of fabric are first aligned one on the other and understitched along one edge. Thereupon the fabric is turned back onto itself along the original line of understitching by aligning the pieces of fabric on the other side, the original line of understitching being on the inside and invisible. In doing this, a sandwich of fabric is visible along the outside of the original line of understitching, clearly indicating two pieces of fabric. To give the appearance of a unitary piece of fabric, the sandwich is pulled tight along the original line of understitching invisible on the inside and overstitched so that the original understitching is now on the inside and overstitching on the outside. Thus, in the operation the edge is pulled tight along the original line of understitching now invisible and held in position by a second line of stitching (i.e. overstitching) 0n the outside. This operation is called overstitching. Examples of overstitching comprise the following: Setting and cording of the side pockets of trousers; joining and edge top stitching of collars; facing of blouses, jackets, coats; turning and top stitching of cuffs, collars, flaps; facing of blouses, shirts, short sleeves, armholes, neckline, and jacket bottoms.

In the overstitching operation a large part of the sewing machine operators time is spent in drawing the fabric tight along the line of the inner original and invisible understitching to reduce the sandwich effect to a minimum upon the completion of the overstitching operation so as to yield a finished product having a unitary appearance. One reason for the diiculty in drawing the fabric tightly along the line of the inner understitching is the stiffness of the fabric which, among other things, is due to the stiffness caused by the presence of size in the fabric.

I have now devised a feeder which is characterized by a. raised feeder row substantially along the line of the needle whose raised feeder row operates cooperatively with the presser foot so that the fabric is kneaded, i.e. pushed forward by the additional pressure of the raised feeder row between the toes of the presser foot during understitching by the cooperative action of the raised feeder row and the presser foot as the fabric is fed between the feeder and presser foot. Thus, the raised feeder row acts upon the fabric by kneading it through the opening in the toes of the presser foot to cause, among other things, a breakdown of the sizing in the fabric. Because of improved fabric flexibility, the machine operator in the subsequent oyerstitching operation can more facile- 1y turn the fabric along the primary understitching line, thus minimizing sandwiching to yield a unitary product.

3,496,894 Patented Feb. 24, 1970 ICC Because of the increased flexibility in the fabric the time spent by the operator in overstitching can be reduced as much as 50% or more by allowing the operator to perform this operation much faster thus reducing the cost of the overstitched fabric.

By the term substantially along the line of the needle is meant that the raised feeder row is capable of working the fabric in the vicinity of the understitched area of the fabric so that this area is softened sufficiently to facilitate overstitching. This principle can be imparted to any suitable feeder for example into feeders described in the following publications: (1) Cutters Exchange Catalogue 1963, (2) Dalsew, Inc. 1965-66 Catalogue, (3) Sunbrand Catalogue No. 222, 1963-64, etc. These publications are incorporated by reference into this specification as if part thereof.

The feeder row along the line of the needle is employed in conjunction with a presser foot having openings in the toes thereof so that the raised feeder row can work in the opening between the toes, and the fabric interposed between the raised feeder row and the presser foot is kneaded sufficiently by the operation of the feeder to reduce the stiffness, or stated inversely, to increase the fiexibility of the fabric so that subsequent overstitching is more quickly and facilely carried out with the minimum of sandwiching.

The height of the raised feeder row above the other rows should be sufficient to effect the kneading and resultant softening of the fabric but not so high as to injure the fabric. This height obviously will vary depending on the particular feeder and presser'foot as well as on the particular fabric employed. In practice I have employed feeder rows raised from about 3&2" to about Ms. With certain feeder-presser foot systems and fabrics lesser or greater heights can be employed.

Since the raised feeder row exerts additional pressure on the fabric, it should have no sharp edges which are capable of damaging the fabric. Therefore, it is preferable that the top of the raised feeder row be relatively smooth.

The presser foot employed should have an opening in its toes sufficiently wide to allow the raised feeder row to pass through it and to work the fabric so it can be sufficiently kneaded to soften the fabric.

In my applications S.N. 611,337, filed J an. 24, 1967 and S.N. 618,840, filed Feb. 27, 1967, there are described and claimed hybrid feeder-cutters. The present invention with its raised feeder row can be embodied into said hybrid feeder-cuter without effecting the function of each. Thus, the resulting product is a kneader-cutter-feeder. Any of the embodiments disclosed in these hybrid feedercutter applications modified by raised feeder rows substantially in line with the needle can be employed in conjunction with a presser foot having suitable toe openings.

One advantage of the present invention is that currently available commercial presser foot having toe openings can be employed. Although both one piece solid units presser foots and plural piece presser foots or other types which give during the sewing operation such as those two piece foots which have spring hinges, it is preferred for maximum kneading action to employ a one piece presser foot.

This invention will become apparent from the description contained herein in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective View of a sewing machine stitching head showing the needle, presser foot, needle plate-feeder combination and the stitched fabric.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the needle plate.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the kneader-feeder.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the kneader-feedercutter.

FIGURE 5 is a edge View of the front (i.e. the side closest to the operator) of either FIGURE 3 or FIG- URE 4.

FIGURE 6 is a perspective enlarged view of FIGURE 1 showing the kneader-feeder in combination with the presser foot.

In describing parts, that which is closest to the machine operator is called the front and that which is farthest from the operator is called the rear. The tops of all raised feeder rows Which are highlighted in black have relatively smooth surfaces.

Referring now to the drawings, in which the same numerals indicate the same elements throughout various gures thereof.

FIGURE l shows the overstitching operation of a sewing machine where 1 is the sewing machine head, 2 is the needle, 3 is the presser foot, 4 is the feeder, 14 is the raised feeder row, 5 is the needle plate, 6 is the slide plate, 7 is the thread and 8 and 8 are the stitched fabrics. The stitched fabric is presented so that the feeder is visible although during the stitching operation it is covered with fabric. In addition, the section of the fabric closest to the operator is cut away so as to show the inner understitchng 9. Thus, in the overstitching operation two pieces of fabric 8 and 8' are laid end to end and understitched along line 9 and then folded back on itself so that the edges are now edge to edge on the opposite sides. At this point the fabric has a sandwich effect which is rendered into a more unitary piece by overstitching along line 10 so as to yield a piece of reduced sandwich and more unitary appearance.

FIGURE .2 shows the needle plate 11 and FIGURE 3 shows the kneader-feeder and FIGURE 4 the kneaderfeeder-cuter, each of which iits into the needle plate of FIGURE 2 through opening 12 and the needle is operated through hole 13. The raised feeder row 14 which is highlighted in black is to the front of the feeder. Other feeder rows are designated as 15. In FIGURE 4 the cutting edge 19 is built into the rear of the left feeder row. A section of the rear center row of feeder teeth 17 is cut away or omitted to facilitate contact of the thread with the cutter as described in S.N. 611,337 and S.N. 618,840.

FIGURE 5 is an edge View from the front of either FIGURE 3 or FIGURE 4 showing the raised feeder row 14 in contrast to the other feeder rows 15 0n feeder base 16.

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged cut away view of FIGURE 1 in which the feeder of either FIGURE 3 or FIGURE 4 is employed. The .raised feeder row 14 fits between toes 17 and 18 of presser foot 3. When the fabric is placed between the feeder and presser foot, during understitching, the raised feeder row 14 during feeder operation by [l pushing and kneading the fabric between toes 17 and 18 of presser foot 3 softens the fabric so as to facilitate the subsequent overstitching operation.

In essence, the feeder of this invention is a hybrid kneader-feeder fulfilling each function without interfering with the other functions. In addition, it can also be employed as a kneader-feeder-cutter also fullling each individual function without interfering with the other functions. This plural functionality is eiected Without the necessity of employing any auxiliary devices.

While certain representative embodiments have been shown for purposes of illustration, it Will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to obtain by Letters Patent is:

1. A fabric softening and thread cutting hybrid sewing machine kneader-feeder-cutter including (1) a plurality of feeder rows characterized by a raised feeder row having a height above any other feeder row thereof sufcient to effect thevkneading and resulting softening of the fabric but not so high as to injure the fabric and a relatively smooth top surface, said raised feeder row of the sewing machine being in line with the sewing machine needle, and (2) a thread cutting means on said kneader-feeder-cutter to the rear of said plurahty of feeder rows and out of the normal path of the line of stitching.

2. The kneader-feeder-cutter of claim 1 wherein said raised feeder row is in the front portion of said plurality of feeder rows.

3. The kneader-feeder-cutter of claim 1 in combination with a presser foot containing toes said raised feeder row being capable of tting between the toes of the presser foot so as to be able to soften the fabric.

4. The kneader-feeder or claim 2 in combination with a presser foot containing toes, the raised feeder row being capable of tting between the toes of the presser foot so as to be able to soften the fabric.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS HERBERT F. ROSS,

U.S. Cl. X.R.

Primary Examiner 

